Thousands of people experience mental injuries every day. Some are more noticeable than others, some develop immediately, while others emerge over time. Regardless of how or when they occur, all mental injuries can have a significant impact on a person’s wellbeing and should be taken seriously. The dangerous thing about mental injuries is that they can be much less obvious than physical injuries. It can be hard for individuals who have sustained the mental injury to recognise the damage they have caused – nevermind doctors who still find it challenging despite having specialist medical equipment.
In this article we will discuss what a mental injury is, what the most common injuries are, and when you should seek help when you’ve been involved with one.
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What Is A Mental Injury?
A mental injury is a mental health condition such as depression or anxiety that has influence over an individual’s mood and thoughts. A mental injury is one that is caused by a specific event or occurrence such as continuous stress or a traumatic incident. In order for a psychological or psychiatric injury to be classified as an official mental injury, a medical professional is required to diagnose the individual’s mental state as unwell, and it must be serious enough that it significantly impacts an individual’s ability to work, socialise or function in their daily life.
Most Common Types of Mental Injuries
PTSD
PTSD stands for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and is a mental health condition caused by a deeply triggering or stressful event. People that live with PTSD process dangerous or terrifying situations differently to others, and will become immediately triggered by these environments that bring back flashbacks and nightmares from the traumatic event they witnessed.
Depression
Individuals with depression tend to have extremely low mood levels and often struggle to find enjoyment and interest in everyday activities that others would typically enjoy. As well as emotional symptoms like sadness and emptiness, those who suffer from depression can also experience cognitive, physical and behavioural symptoms such as brain fog and disrupted sleep.
Anxiety
Although it’s very normal for everyone to experience feeling anxious in stressful situations throughout life, anxiety is also a medical condition diagnosed to individuals who persistently feel anxious in situations and are unable to reduce or limit their anxiety levels. Individuals who live with anxiety will often experience physical symptoms like shortness of breath, as well as mental symptoms like difficulty concentrating.
Common Causes of Mental Injuries
It’s rare that mental injuries occur because of a single factor. Instead, they’re often a result of either inherited traits or biological factors and environmental stressors. In cases where mental injuries are caused by a single occurrence, it’s usually because of either trauma, abuse or loss of a family member or loved one. It’s common to see individuals with PTSD if they’ve been involved in an abusive or toxic relationship over a period of time. You will also see patients with PTSD if they’ve faced life-threatening incidents like a car crash or near-death experience. A number of mental injuries however are caused by prolonged incidents that can be both stressful or depressive. It’s often that you’ll see depression occur in individuals who have suffered a recent death of someone they loved or were close to.
How To Avoid Mental Injuries
It’s hard to clearly say how you can completely avoid mental injuries – especially those that are caused by an external factor or another individual. However, there are a number of wellness techniques that healthcare professionals recommend to manage PTSD, stress and anxiety.
Mindfulness is one of the most recommended wellness techniques to manage mental illnesses. It involves a number of different methodologies, all aimed at paying attention to the present moment and becoming aware of all your thoughts and feelings, without giving energy to them. A key focus of mindfulness is training yourself to notice all the thoughts, smells, emotions and sensations that you feel, while recognising that these events don’t control you.
A few ways to be more mindful in your daily routine is to partake in regular meditation, even if it’s just 7 minutes a day, which can help you to pay attention to your mind and body, and when your thoughts start to occupy your mind.
When To Seek Help for Mental Injuries
Regardless of whether your mental injury was caused by the fault of yourself or someone else, it’s always a good idea to seek advice from a medical professional if it begins to interfere with your everyday life. While there are lifestyle changes that can improve the symptoms of mental injuries like deep breathing and building daily positive habits, for long-term health improvements, it’s best to reach out to a professional therapist or psychiatrist.
There are several instances involving mental injuries where seeking support from legal and medical professionals is strongly advised. In situations where a mental injury has been caused within a workplace or medical environment, you could be entitled to mental injury compensation, and should immediately reach out to a specialist law firm like Bond Turner who can advise you on how to put together a successful claim.
